Cardiac Ablation

Some hearts beat irregularly because one small area of tissue fires electrical signals it should not. Ablation threads fine catheters through a vein to that exact spot and neutralises it with controlled heat (radiofrequency) or freezing (cryotherapy), so the normal rhythm can take over again.

Who it is for

It treats atrial fibrillation, atrial flutter, supraventricular tachycardia and other arrhythmias — usually after medicines have failed, caused side effects, or would otherwise be lifelong. For rhythm problems that accompany other heart disease there is also a surgical form (the maze procedure), sometimes combined with open-heart surgery, and hybrid approaches that treat the heart from inside and outside together.

What the procedure involves

You stop rhythm medicines and blood thinners beforehand exactly as instructed — never on your own judgement. The catheters go in through a vein at the groin under sedation or anaesthesia, mapping identifies the misfiring tissue, and the ablation itself is precise to a few millimetres. Most patients stay one night.

Recovery and what to expect

Expect bruising at the catheter site and a few days of tiredness; occasional extra beats in the first weeks are common while the scar settles and do not mean the procedure failed. Most people are back to normal activity within a week, with strenuous exercise held back a little longer.

Before you agree to anything

Ask which arrhythmia you have, what the realistic chance is that one procedure fixes it, and whether a repeat might be needed — the honest answer differs by condition. We put those questions to the electrophysiologist in writing before you travel.